Misdemeanor Expungements

Expungements for misdemeanors in the State of California are commonly available for most offenses. At its core, an expungement is a legal process that petitions the Court to review a misdemeanor conviction after the fact. Your attorney will ask the court to determine if the petitioner is eligible to have the conviction retroactively dismissed. This process can be available even to those who entered a plea of guilty, or for whom the court found them guilty.

There are always exceptions to the rule, but if an argument can be made that it is in the interest of justice to grant the expungement, the court’s of California and San Diego especially are relatively sympathetic to the process. In almost all cases probation must have been successfully completed which includes paying all fines and not having additional convictions during the time of probation, although there are limited exceptions. 

All sorts of misdemeanors can be expunged, one of the most common being DUIs. Probation for DUIs used to ordinarily be anywhere between 3-5 years depending on the severity of the DUI and any previous arrests. However, since new laws passed in 2021 many probations are set in as little as one year. Probation usually includes things like obeying the law, making any court appearances, completing any state mandated programs, and paying any and all fines.

However, the list of eligible misdemeanors is fairly extensive. This can include offenses like:

This is of course far from a comprehensive list, but an attorney can help navigate many of the challenges from determining eligibility to making court appearances.

Many think that a misdemeanor charge, especially one over 10 years old, either goes away on its own or will no longer affect their lives. However a properly granted expungement, even for misdemeanors, carries many benefits. This is especially true when:

If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us for your free consultation!